University of Southern Queensland appoints new Vice-Chancellor

25 May 2017

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Geraldine Mackenzie as USQ’s incoming Vice-Chancellor. Following an extensive search process, Professor Mackenzie was chosen from an extremely talented field which included Australian and international applicants.

Professor Mackenzie will succeed interim Vice-Chancellor Professor Janet Verbyla who will resume her role as Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor when Professor Mackenzie commences on September 4 this year. Professor Mackenzie is currently Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Southern Cross University (SCU) and returns to USQ having previously been Foundation Head, School of Law in 2007 and 2008. From 2009-2014 she held senior executive positions at Bond University as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research), Pro Vice-Chancellor (Business and Community Engagement), and Executive Dean, Faculty of Law. Prior to that she held management positions and taught at QUT for 19 years.

At SCU Professor Mackenzie established the Office of Research and the Graduate School, and the Centre for Organics Research in conjunction with the NSW Department of Primary Industries. She also led the development of a new research strategy, Research 2026, and established three new Research Institutes.

In her career, Professor Mackenzie has had a strong international focus in lifting recognition of Australian and particularly regional universities, and is currently Deputy Chair, Universities Australia DVC Research group, and Chair, NSW DVC Research group. She has also been a strong advocate nationally in recognising equity and diversity, and is currently co-founder and Chair, Regional Universities Network Executive Women.

In addition to her extensive organisational leadership, Professor Mackenzie has an international reputation in her own academic background in law, with a PhD in sentencing law from the University of New South Wales. A Barrister-at-Law, she is a member of the Queensland Bar Association, American Bar Association and the International Bar Association, and has made a significant impact on sentencing law in Queensland. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law, the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Australian Institute of Management, as well as a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, holding various Board positions, and through her own standing in research has held a number of prestigious Chair appointments, both past and present.